39. Calls for strict implementation of existing waste water treatment standards and compulsory water management plans by operators, in cooperation with the drinking water companies and the competent authorities; stresses, however, that existing treatment plants are ill-equipped to treat hydraulic fracturing waste water and may be discharging pollutants into rivers and streams; considers, to this end, that a full assessment of all the relevant water treatment plants in the Member States concerned should be carried on by the competent authorities;

39. Calls for strict implementation of existing waste water treatment standards and compulsory water management plans by operators, in cooperation with the drinking water companies and the competent authorities; stresses, however, that existing treatment plants are ill-equipped to treat hydraulic fracturing waste water and may be discharging pollutants into rivers and streams; considers, to this end, that a full assessment of all the relevant water treatment plants in the Member States concerned should be carried on by the competent authorities;

Specific projects to benefit from the programme include an extensive programme to reduce non-revenue water, including both technical and commercial losses, increasing the capacity of 4 existing desalination plants on Mahé, La Digue and Praslin, improvements to the Hermitage and Cascade water treatment plants, a first time sewerage system in La Digue and extensions to the Mahé sewerage network.

This comprehensive plan consists of four immediate measures: first, identify the first nations communities most at risk from unsafe drinking water and complete and implement detailed remediation plans to fix the specific problems of water treatment and distribution systems in these communities; second, ensure that certified operators oversee all treatment plant facilities and require mandatory training for all treatment plant operators; third, implement the protocol for safe drinking water for first nations communities, a series of benchmarks for local operators that establish clear standards for the design, construction, ...[+++]operation, maintenance and monitoring of treatment facilities; and fourth, determine options for a regulatory framework for water in first nations communities as the basis for sustainable solutions.

Mr. Loyola Hearn: Well, that was my question, actually whether or not this is being properly treated, because if not Mr. Jim Robb: Well, the Duffins Creek Water Pollution Control Plant is a fairly up-to-date plant, but any plant has problems when it has to increase capacity a lot.

It involves linking the two existing sub-regional water supply systems, enlarging the existing distribution network to cater for a larger population, improving some of the existing water treatment plants to ensure higher water quality, build a water desalinisation plant to supply fresh water to the Island of Culatra and building additional reservoirs and installing a distance-management system to improve the operational flexibility of the overall system.